The Vatican Information Service is a news service, founded in the Holy See Press Office, that provides information about the Magisterium and the pastoral activities of the Holy Father and the Roman Curia...[+]

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Monday, February 11, 2013

Vatican
City, 11 February 2013
(VIS) – The Holy Father, at the end of today's consistory for
causes for canonization, announced his resignation from ministry as
Bishop of Rome to the College of Cardinals. Following is the Holy
Father's complete declaration, which he read in Latin:

"I
have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three
canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great
importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly
examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that
my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an
adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this
ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out
not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering.
However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and
shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order
to govern the barque of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both
strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last
few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to
recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted
to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this
act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of
Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the
Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February
2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will
be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have
to be convoked by those whose competence it is."

"Dear
Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with
which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all
my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of
Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy
Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her
maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard
to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in
the future through a life dedicated to prayer."

Vatican
City, 11 February 2013
(VIS) - Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, on
hearing the news of the Pope's resignation from the Petrine ministry,
expressed his nearness, and that of all the cardinals, to Benedict
XVI.

"We
have heard you," he said, "with a sense of loss and
almost disbelief. In your words we see the great affection that you
have always had for God's Holy Church, for this Church that you have
loved so much. Now, let me say, on behalf of this apostolic
cenacle―the College of Cardinals―on
behalf of your beloved collaborators, allow me to say that we are
closer than ever to you, as we have been during these almost eight
luminous years of your pontificate. On 19 April 2005, if I remember
correctly, at the end of the conclave I asked … 'Do you accept your
canonical election as Supreme Pontiff?' And you did not hesitate,
although moved with emotion, to answer that you accepted, trusting in
the Lord's grace and the maternal intercession of Mary, Mother of the
Church. Like Mary on that day she gave her 'yes', and your luminous
pontificate began, following in the wake of continuity, in that
continuity with your 265 predecessors in the Chair of Peter, over two
thousand years of history from the Apostle Peter, the humble Galilean
fisherman, to the great popes of the last century from St. Pius X to
Blessed John Paul II."

"Holy
Father, before 28 February, the day that, as you have said, you wish
to place the word 'end' to your pontifical service, conducted with so
much love and so humbly, before 28 February, we will be able to
better express our feelings. So too will the many pastors and
faithful throughout the world, so too all those of good will together
with the authorities of many countries. … Also, still this month,
we will have the joy of listening to your voice as pastor: Ash
Wednesday, Thursday with the clergy of Rome, in the Sunday Angelus,
and the Wednesday general audiences, we will still have many
occasions to hear your paternal voice. … Your mission, however,
will continue. You have said that you will always be near us with
your witness and your prayer. Of course, the stars always continue to
shine and so will the star of your pontificate always shine among us.
We are near to you, Holy Father, and we ask you to bless us."

Vatican
City, 11 February 2013
(VIS) – Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press
Office, commented there and on Vatican Radio on Benedict XVI's
resignation of the papacy. "Among the reasons for the Pope's
resignation, as he noted in his own words," he said, "are
the circumstances of today's world that, in relation to the past, are
particularly difficult, both because of the speed as well as the
number of events and problems that arise that, therefore, need a
vigour, perhaps stronger than in the past. It is a vigour that the
Pope says he has felt diminish in him in recent months."

He
continued, "The phrase: 'well aware of the seriousness of this
act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of
Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter,' is very significant This
is the formal declaration, which is important from a juridical point
of view. In paragrapgh 2 of canon 332 of the Code of Canon Law, we
read: 'Should it happen that the Roman Pontiff resigns from his
office, it is required for validity that the resignation be freely
made and properly manifested, but it is not necessary that it be
accepted by anyone.' The two fundamental points are, therefore,
freedom and due manifestation. Freedom and public manifestation, and
the consistory in which the Pope manifested his will is public."

"Benedict
XVI will continue to fully carry out his functions and his service
until 28 February at 8:00pm. From that moment on the situation of
Sede Vacante will begin, regulated, from a legal and canonical
standpoint, by the texts referring to Sede Vacante in the Code of
Canon Law and the Apostolic Constitution 'Universi dominici gregis'
by John Paul II, regarding the Sede Vacante of the Apostolic See."

"The
Pope's announcement is consistent with what he declared in the book
'Light of the World' by Peter Seewald, based on interviews with
Benedict XVI. Seewald posed two precise questions on the hypothesis
of resignation. In the first, he asked the Holy Father whether, in
difficult situations that weigh on the pontificate in progress, the
Pope would consider resigning. Benedict's response was: 'When the
danger is great, one cannot escape. For this reason, surely, this
would not be the time to resign' (he was referring to the question of
sexual abuse, etc.). Moments like this are the times when one has to
be strong and face the difficult situation. This is what I think. One
can resign in a time of peace, or when one simply no longer has the
strength, but one cannot escape in a moment of danger saying 'someone
else take care of it'. In any case, the Pope said that the
difficulties would not be, for him, a motive for resignation; rather,
they would be a reason not to. Seewald's second question was: 'Well
then, can you imagine a situation in which you would think that a
Pope could resign?' The Holy Father responded: 'When a Pope realizes
clearly that he is no longer physically, mentally, and spiritually
capable of carrying out his role, then there is legally the
possibility, and also the obligation, to resign.'"

The
Director of the Holy See's Press Office explained that the Holy
Father "will move to Castel Gandolfo on 28 February, and, once
he has finished the tasks he has in progress, he will take up
residence in the former cloistered monastery in the Vatican. The
process for the election of a new Pope will begin on1 March. We do
not yet know the exact date of the conclave, but obviously there will
be no need to wait the normal eight days of mourning (novendali)
after the death of the Pope. Thus, in two weeks, during the month of
March, in time for Easter, we will have a new Pope ... Benedict XVI
will have no role in next March's conclave, nor in the running of the
Church during the time between popes, the time of Sede Vacante. The
Apostolic Constitution gives no role in this transition to a pope who
resigns."

"Personally,"
he concluded, "I received the announcement of the Pope's
resignation with great admiration, for its great valour, for the Holy
Father's freedom of spirit and great concern for the responsibility
of his ministry. Benedict XVI has offered us a great witness of
spiritual freedom, of great wisdom in regard to Church government in
today's world."

VATICAN
CITY, 11 February 2013 (VIS) – It will soon be eight years since 19
April 2013, the day that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, dean of the
College of Cardinals, was elected as Supreme Pontiff, the 264th
successor of Peter, and chose the name Benedict XVI.

The
cardinal proto-deacon, Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez, made the solemn
announcement to the people at 6:43pm from the external loggia of the
Hall of Blessings of the Vatican Basilica following the white smoke
which occurred at 5:50pm.

Following
are the words of Cardinal Medina Estevez:

Annuntio
vobis gaudium magnum;

habemus
Papam;

Eminentissium
ac Reverendissium Dominum,

Dominum
Josephum

Sanctae
Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem Ratzinger

Qui
sibi nomen imposuit Benedictum XVI

(I
announce to you with great joy;

We
have a Pope;

The
most eminent and most reverend Lord,

Lord
Joseph

Cardinal
of Holy Roman Church Ratzinger

Who
has taken the name Benedict XVI)

The
conclave that led to the election of Benedict XVI began on Monday, 18
April 2005, in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican Apostolic Palace,
with the "extra omnes" pronounced at 5:25pm by Archbishop
Piero Marini, master of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme
Pontiff, following the taking of the oath by the 115 cardinal
electors.

The
first black smoke took place at 8:04pm the same day.

On
Tuesday, April 19, there was black smoke at 11:52am.

On
Tuesday, April 19, there was white smoke at 5:50pm.

At
6:48pm, the Holy Father Benedict XVI, preceded by the Cross, appeared
on the external loggia to greet the people and to impart the
Apostolic Blessing "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and to the
world).

Prior
to the blessing, the new Pontiff addressed the faithful with the
following words:

"Dear
Brothers and Sisters,"

"After
the great Pope John Paul II, the Lord Cardinals have elected me, a
simple and humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord. I am consoled
by the fact that the Lord knows how to act, even with inadequate
instruments and above all I entrust myself to your prayers. In the
joy of the Risen Lord, trusting in His permanent help, as we go
forward the Lord will help us, and His Mother, Mary Most Holy, will
be at our side. Thank you."

Vatican
City, 11 February 2013
(VIS) – The conclave to elect the successor of Benedict XVI will be
regulated by the "Ordo Rituum Conclavis" established by
John Paul II's apostolic constitution "Universi Dominici
Gregis", para. 27. The Cardinal Camerlengo, who has a
fundamental role during the Sede Vacante period, is Cardinal Tarcisio
Bertone, appointed by Benedict XVI on 4 April 2007.

The
Cardinal electors, by their continents of provenance, will be 61
Europeans, 19 Latin Americans, 14 North Americans, 11 Africans, 11
Asians, and 1 from Oceania. These figures may vary depending on the
date that the conclave opens: for example, Cardinal Walter Kasper
will turn 80 on 5 March. The country with the greatest number of
Cardinal electors is Italy, with 21. Sixty-seven of the electors were
created by Benedict XVI and the remaining 50 by John Paul II.

One
of John Paul II's innovations regarding the period of conclave is
that the Cardinal electors―of whom
there will be 117 on 28 February―will be housed in the Vatican
residence Casa Santa Marta, which is independent from the place where
they vote, the Sistine Chapel.

The
Cardinal electors must remain in the Vatican during the entire period
of conclave, and no one can approach them when they move from the
Sistine Chapel to their place of residence or vice versa. All forms
of communication with the outside world are prohibited. As in the
past, the Sistine Chapel stove will be used to burn the ballots after
each vote.